minimum charge

[stan794]

what do you chaps charge as a minimum. As I am newly self employed, I seem to but getting customers saying how much when I have been called out to see them and end up locating fault quite quick. I always say when they call that minimum charge of

 

[SPECIAL LOCATION]

Travel time, e.g. miles....

evening, weekends... weekday etc..

Location.. London... Mid wales.... Scotland.... Birmingham.. etc..

New customer.. Existing customer..

Will ALL make a big variation..

I honestly don't think you will get a single common value answer to a question like thins.

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It will be proportional to your hourly rate......

there are some bloke who will work for

 

[steptoe]

Im anything from

 

[lkayelectrical]

I normaly do a min charge of 1 hour ( if local) and tell them there is a minimum charge of 1 hour they dont seem to mind.

L

 

[sellers]

All depends on situation,

Usually go at 40quid for normal hours

If I turn up and am out the door in 5mins I'll usually say 25quid to cover my travel depending how far it is.

Decent customers get freebies every now and again for 15minute jobs when I'm passing.

 

[Cirrus]

[No message]

 

[ProDave]

Here's another slant to this. What do you charge for a "no show"

Went to a job today, thankfully only 4 miles from home, at the appointed time. Nobody in. Waited half an hour, and nobody turned up.

this job was organised a week ago and this was the first time she could be in, but wasn't.

If I go back again, would you charge half an hour waiting time? travelling time, or would you simply put it down as an unreliable customer and forget about going back another time, and tell her to get someone more gullible?

 

[steptoe]

its difficult Dave,

I went to a private rental a while back to do a PIR, lanlord had organised it all ,

tenant refused me access saying no one had told him and it didnt suit,

I rang landlord, he had forgot to tell tenant, luckily I had another job I was able to go to, but not a full days work,

I billed the landlord

 

[stan794]

Yeah the no show is a problem. I went to a small job today for an external light - the old lady had left a message on my answering machine leaving her details. I called back within an hour and told her i would be over in a couple of hours, she went on to explain that she had left a message yesterday etc etc i said never received are you sure you called me and not someone else etc etc.

Anyway, i get over there and there is another spark fitting the light i was going to quote on, her answer was i must have left message on his machine yesterday then he turned up and she thought it was me arghhh.

Starts to walk off and she pipes up oh while your here can you fix my fence this bloke dont want to do it. the mind boggles

 

[wozz]

usually 60 for the first hour, if im sorted within half hour might take a bit off, never have much of a problem who else could they call out for that sort of money? plumber? BT?

 

[andy_spark]

As said by everyone else it varies from customer to customer.

I have a mate (a plumber) who has a habit of breaking cables, and is alsways after me to fix/check things. I offer a reasonable rate to him for a call out as it results in more work long term.

Really need to judge each job on its own but have a starting average price. Try giving a price for less than an hour and a half, say an hour or 45 mins.

 

[davetheglitz]

I charge a

 

[Cirrus]

I charge a